A lot of high-profile Horse Racing events around the world can trace their history back over a hundred years and the Cheltenham Festival is no exception. First held back in 1860, the festival has been hosted in a number of different venues before settling in its now iconic home at Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park. The usually quiet but racing mad town has the eyes of the Horse Racing world on it for four days in March every year as the pinnacle of the racing calendar rolls into town.
In this guide, we will take you through the many races that make up the festival and we’ll offer some tips on how you can make your Cheltenham Festival betting more successful.
If you’re ready to learn more about the Cheltenham Festival and Horse Racing, read on.
Cheltenham Festival Races
Unibet Champion Hurdle
One of the highlights of the entire Cheltenham Festival is the Unibet Champion Hurdle, a 2 mile and 87 yard race which covers eight hurdles and is considered the most prestigious hurdle race of the year. The race was first run in 1927 and is open for horses aged 4 years and older.
Prominent owner JP McManus set a record of winning four consecutive Unibet Champion hurdle races from 2017-2020, but has lost out to fellow owner Kenny Alexander the last two years. Record-breaking jockey Rachael Blackmore has won the last two Champion Hurdles with Honeysuckle, who is favourite to win the 2023 edition.
Unibet ambassador and legendary trainer Nicky Henderson has won the Unibet Champion Hurdle more times than any other trainer – 8 in total with 5 different horses, most recently in 2020 with Epatante. Unibet’s sponsorship of this race is the current longest-running partnership of all the Championship races at the Festival!
Cheltenham Gold Cup
Another popular race is the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Run over 3 miles 2 furlongs on the final day of the festival, this prestigious race is the one which all connections want to win.
For many, the Gold Cup carries higher prestige than the Grand National, if not the prize pool, and it is undoubtedly the pinnacle of the betting action over the four days. First run in 1924, the Cheltenham Gold Cup has produced plenty of drama over the years and, as it approaches its 100th anniversary, it’s a focal point for bookmaker promotions, Cheltenham betting offers and the battle between punters and bookmakers.
Whilst the Cheltenham Gold Cup is the standout event, every race at the festival is of the highest quality, with all but four races being Class 1s. Each day has a ‘championship’ race; day 1 hosts the Unibet Champion Hurdle, day 2 has the Champion Chase, day 3 is home to the unofficial fourth championship race, the Ryanair Chase, with the Gold Cup held on day 4. In-between these four is a wealth of other top-class races, including the Supreme Novice Hurdle, the Arkle and the Stayers Hurdle, amongst many others.
We’ll run through the full Cheltenham race card as we move through this preview, but for now let’s see what it will take to pick out some winners.
How to bet on the Cheltenham Festival - tips and naps
The Cheltenham Festival is truly unique as both a racing and betting spectacle, and the battle between backers and layers is a fevered one every year. So, how do you go about finding a winner at Cheltenham? As with any betting proposition in racing, the key element to start with is your horse’s form over the season. Focus on their performance over the same or similar distance to the race in question, as well as how they run on the ground conditions (known as Going) that will be present on the day.
An additional factor to consider when betting is how your horse has run at previous Cheltenham Festivals, or, failing that, at the course itself. Cheltenham, with its famous hill near the finish line, is a unique course that requires horses to have the stamina to get home. On top of that, the atmosphere is intense, the crowds are loud, and the preliminaries before the race are new for a lot of horses. All this means that some horses just can’t cope and can lose the race before they even line up, as they’ve already exerted a ton of energy that was needed for the race.
Next, it can pay to look at the trainer, jockey and even owner records at both the Festival and individual races. Different trainers excel at training specific types of horse, who in turn are aimed at certain races. Unibet Ambassador Nicky Henderson, for example, is the most successful trainer in the history of the Unibet Champion Hurdle, having won it 8 times, so it’s always worth noting his horses when evaluating the race and finding a bet. However, he has missed out on the winning horse for the last two years, losing both times to Honeysuckle, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by record-breaking jockey Rachael Blackmore.
The last 10 years leading up to the 2023 Cheltenham Festival has been dominated by only two trainers. Gordon Elliot has claimed the leading trainer title on two occasions, while Willie Mullins has a whopping eight successes, including the last four consecutive years. Again, while it by no means signifies a guaranteed win, these trainers’ horses will always bring their A-game to any race at Cheltenham.
It is also always worth watching one of the many Cheltenham Festival previews which are available in the run up to the festival. This can be a great way to get insight from experts in the sport, as well as trainers and jockeys who will be competing at the festival. The information in these previews can prove invaluable when it comes to picking winners. Unibet held their own Cheltenham preview with a stellar line up, which can be found in the video below:
Cheltenham Race Dates & Time
Below you'll find the Cheltenham Festival dates for 2023 which takes place in March.
DAY 1 - Tuesday 14th March 2023
| START TIMES | RACE |
| 13:30 |
The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle Race |
| 14:10 |
The Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase |
| 14:50 |
The Ultima Handicap Steeple Chase |
| 15:30 |
The Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy |
| 16:10 |
The Mares’ Hurdle Race |
| 16:50 |
The Juvenile Handicap Hurdle Race (Grade 3) |
| 17:30 |
The National Hunt Steeple Chase Challenge Cup (Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Steeple Chase) (Grade 2) |
DAY 2 - Wednesday 15th March 2023
| START TIMES | RACE |
| 13:30 |
The Novices' Hurdle Race |
| 14:10 |
The Novices’ Steeple Chase (Grade 1) |
| 14:50 |
The Cup Hurdle (A Handicap Hurdle Race) (Grade 3) |
| 15:30 |
The Queen Mother Champion Steeple Chase (Grade 1) |
| 16:10 |
The Cross Country Steeple Chase |
| 16:50 |
The Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup (Grade 3) |
| 17:30 |
The Champion Bumper (A Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) |
DAY 3 - Thursday 16th March 2023
| START TIMES | RACE |
| 13:30 |
The Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) |
| 14:10 |
The Network Final (A Handicap Hurdle Race) (Listed) |
| 14:50 |
The Steeple Chase (Grade 1) |
| 15:30 |
The Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 16:10 |
The Cheltenham Plate (A Handicap Steeple Chase) (Grade 3) |
| 16:50 |
The Mares Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) |
| 17:30 |
The Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Steeple Chase (0-145) |
DAY 4 - Friday 17th March 2023
| START TIMES | RACE |
| 13:30 |
The JCB Triumph Hurdle |
| 14:10 |
The County Handicap Hurdle Race |
| 14:50 |
The Novices’ Hurdle Race |
| 15:30 |
The Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase (Grade 1) |
| 16:10 |
The Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters' Steeple Chase |
| 16:50 |
Mares' Steeple Chase (grade 2) |
| 17:30 |
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle |
With so many top-class races at the Cheltenham Festival, you can bet the best of the best will make an appearance. Horses, jockeys, and trainers from around the UK, Ireland and beyond flock to what is one of the biggest race events in the sport. More prominent races, like the Gold Cup, are the most popular with punters, but don’t fall into the trap of ignoring the big handicap races. These are the races with huge fields, which results in much bigger odds at both the top and bottom ends of the betting market. The handicap nature of the races means that, in theory, every horse has a chance to win. So, with some in-depth research and a bit of luck, these are the races where you can really win big.